Postcards From Pura Tanah Lot Bali

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Bali may be small in size – you can drive around the entire coast in one long day – but its prominence as a destination is huge, and rightfully so. Most places regularly visited in West Bali, like sangeh or Tanah Lot.

I brought my friends and the tandem bike to Pura Tanah Lot. Balawan Album became our theme songs for this trip.

Coming from South Bali with motorbike, take the coastal road west from Kerobokan, which is north of the Kuta region, and follow the signs or the traffic. From other parts of Bali, turn off the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road near kediri and follow the signs.

The briliantly located Pura Tanah Lot is possibly the best-known and most photographed temple in Bali. It’s an obligatory stop on many tours from South Bali, very commersialised, and especially crowded at sunset. It has all the authenticity of a stage set – even the tower of rock the temple sits upon was artfully reconstructed with Japanese money, as the entire structure was crumbling. Over one-third of the rock you see is artificial.

For the Balinese, Pura Tanah Lot is one of the most important and venerated sea temples. Like Pura Luhur Uluwatu, at the tip of the southern Bukit Peninsula, it is closely associated with the Majapahit priest, Nirartha.

Tanah Lot, however, is a well-organised tourist trap. To reach the temple, a walkway runs through a sort of sideshow alley with dozens of souvenir shops down to the sea. To ease the task of making purchases, there is an ATM.

To visit the temple you should pick the correct time – everybody shows up for sunset and the mobs obliterate any spiritual feel the place has. If you visit before noon, crowds are few and the vendors are all but asleep.

You can walk over to the temple itself at low tide, or if you need a pricey drink, walk up the slope to the left and sit at one of the many tables along the cliff top.

The whole praying experience certainly took me out of my daily routine. So yes, a lovely and simple day.